Global patterns of aquatic food chain length

Zanden, M. Jake Vander; Fetzer, William W.

doi:10.1111/j.0030-1299.2007.16036.x

Cited by 217 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Consequently, the estimated average trophic fractionation was 2.9‰, which is close to the value found by Caut et al (2011) for blood plasma of captive bottlenose dolphins, and also close to 3‰, the most commonly used nitrogen trophic fractionation value (Vander Zanden & Fetzer 2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Based on the revisions cited above, it seems reasonable to consider that nitrogen trophic fractionation varies between 2 to 4‰, with the value of 3‰ being the most commonly used (Vander Zanden & Fetzer 2007). This latter value of trophic fractionation is similar to the value of 2.6‰ found in blood plasma of captive bottlenose dolphins by Caut et al (2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The main reason for this trophic fractionation seems to be due to internal N metabolism, leading to 15 N enrichment in body proteins coupled with excretion of 15 N-depleted ammonia via urine (Balter et al 2006, Martínez del Rio et al 2009). There have been several recent revisions on differences between δ 15 N values of diet and consumers (Post 2002, McCutchan et al 2003, Vanderklift & Ponsard 2003, Vander Zanden & Fetzer 2007, Martínez del Rio et al 2009). Based on these revisions, it has been observed that nitrogen trophic fractionation depends on several aspects of both diet and the consumer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil

et al. 2013

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of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil. Biota Neotrop. 13(4): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v13n4/en/abstract?article+bn01413042013Abstract: Samples from individuals of the populations of Sotalia guianensis (Guiana) and Pontoporia blainvillei (Franciscana) dolphins living in the Babitonga Bay estuary (26° 28' S/48° 50' W), and samples from individuals of a second population of P. blainvillei from a nearshore area (26° 38' S/48° 41' W), were collected and analyzed along with their prey between 2000 and 2006, to determine the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios and to verify differences in their feeding ecology. No differences were found in the median ð 15 N values of Guiana (15.2‰) and Franciscana (15.9‰) dolphins living in Babitonga Bay, nor of nearshore Franciscana (15.0‰) individuals, suggesting no variation in the trophic level of these populations. However, the lack of more information on the isotopic compositions of their putative prey in the nearshore areas prevents the ability to draw definitive conclusions on this issue. The estuarine Franciscana and Guiana dolphin populations presented mean ð 13 C values of approximately -15.7‰, which were not statistically different from nearshore Franciscana individuals (-14.8‰). Based on stomach content analyses of these species from a previous study, it was reported that there was little overlap in the diet of estuarine Franciscanas and Guiana dolphins. However, based on the similarity of the ð 13 C values between these two species and of their putative prey, it appears that in fact there is an overlap in the diet of these two species. Based solely on stable isotope analysis, it was not possible to differentiate between estuarine and nearshore Franciscana populations, making it difficult to conclude whether captured nearshore specimens were indeed yearlong residents of these areas. Finally, this study suggests that Franciscana and Guiana dolphin populations are sharing the same resources, mostly L. brevis, D. rhombeus, and S. rastrifer. Therefore, the combination of resource sharing and commercial exploitation of their prey makes these two cetacean species vulnerable. Keywords: Pontoporia blainvillei, Sotalia guianensis, Babitonga Bay, feeding ecology, trophic level.HARDT, F.A.S., CREMER, M.J., TONELLO JUNIOR, A.J., BELLANTE, A., BUFFA, G., BUSCAINO, G., MAZZOLA, S., BARRETO, A.S., MARTINELLI, L.A. & ZUPPI, G.M. O uso dos isótopos estáveis de carbono e nitrogênio para o estudo da ecologia de populações de pequenos cetáceos costeiros no sul do Brasil. Biota Neotrop. 13(4): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v13n4/pt/abstract?article+bn01413042013Resumo: Amostras de tecido de indivíduos pertencentes às populações de Sotalia guianensis (boto-cinza) e Pontoporia blainvillei (toninha) que vivem no estuário da Baía da Babitonga (26° 28' S/48° 50' W) e de uma segunda população de P. blainvillei da área costeira (26° 38' S/48° 41' W) foram coletadas entre os anos 2000 e 2006 para ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil

et al. 2013

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“…2005, Hill andFanta 2008). Similarly to previous studies (Briand and Cohen 1987, Schoener 1989, Vander Zanden and Fetzer 2007, Sullivan et al 2015, we found fish δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotopic signatures to differ significantly among riverbed morphology types, with the PCA model explaining almost 90% of the variation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Impact of the riverbed morphology on the source of organic material and the trophic structure of fish community along the upper reaches of the Nevėžis River, Lithuania

Čivas¹,

Kesminas²,

Barisevičiūtė³

2016

Acta Ichthyol. Piscat.

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Čivas L., Kesminas V., Barisevičiūtė R. 2016. Impact of the riverbed morphology on the source of organic material and the trophic structure of fish community along the upper reaches of the Nevėžis River, Lithuania. Acta Ichthyol. Piscat. 46 (4): 303-312.Background. The catchment of the Nevėžis River, the sixth longest river in Lithuania, is among the most affected by agricultural activities. Although seriously disturbed by land reclamation and agricultural pollution, the Nevėžis River still has natural, anthropogenically unaffected stretches. Fish species were studied at two sites of the upper part of the river with different hydrological regime, exhibiting clear differences in the trophic status of fish. The combined effect of hydrogeomorphic and water-chemistry variability on the stable isotope composition of fish assemblages in Lithuania has not been investigated. The presently reported study was intended to explore the possible effects of the riverbed morphology and agricultural activities on the chemistry and stable isotope composition of the three main fish species. Materials and methods. This study covered three species of freshwater fishes: the European perch, Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758; the roach, Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus, 1758); and the northern pike, Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758. The sampling was performed in both natural and regulated river stretches using backpack electrofishing equipment. Stable isotope composition of the samples was revealed by applying stable isotope analyses (SIA) with an elemental analyser connected to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. To obtain more information about environmental variability and variation of stable isotopes δ 13 C and δ 15 N in fish, the entire data matrix was analysed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Results. In the study sites on the Nevėžis River, algal carbon isotope ratios were more 13 C-depleted than those from terrestrial sources. The fishes were clearly dependent on terrestrial carbon sources in natural locations. However, the fishes collected from regulated sites had carbon isotope signatures more similar to algal than to terrestrial sources. Mean values of δ 15 N of the fishes from the natural sites were lower than those from the regulated ones. Conclusion. The presently reported study revealed impact of abiotic habitat variables indicating the importance of physicochemical and morphological characteristics on δ 13 C and δ 15N isotopic values variance of fish at natural and regulated river sites. Our findings would help to evaluate and predict changes on river food webs that occur due to hydromorphological alterations determined by human activity and climate change. The results could be useful for fisheries, i.e., impact of environmental factors on fish nutrition and growth.

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“…We chose to use an average benthic invertebrate d 15 N in order to minimize any uncertainty associated with withinlake baseline variation (Vander Zanden and Fetzer 2007). The number of primary consumer taxa used to calculate the average benthic d 15 N ranged from 3 to 5 within lakes (Table 3).…”

Section: Stable Isotope Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between body size and trophic position of consumers in temperate freshwater lakes

et al. 2011

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Animal body size is a driving force behind trophic interactions within biological communities, yet few studies have explored relationships between body size and trophic position (based on d 15 N) at a broad-scale in freshwater lakes. Therefore, our goals were to (1) determine whether body size is a good predictor of trophic position for multiple pelagic zooplankton taxa and fish communities, and (2) examine how body size-trophic position relationships at the community level compare to species level for fish. Zooplankton and fish were collected from 12 and 7 lakes, respectively, located in the Kawarthas, southern Ontario, Canada. The results indicated that for zooplankton, significant positive but different relationships were found between body size and trophic position for cladocerans, in general, and Daphnia, but not Holopedium. For fish, at the lake community level six out of seven relationships were positive and significant, but again, different among lakes. In contrast, at the species level only three of eight species-specific relationships were significant. Furthermore, for two widespread species, Perca flavescens and Micropterus dolomieu, significant differences were found between community-and lakespecific species relationships. Our community-level models and most species-level models provide evidence that trophic interactions in freshwater lakes are size-based. These results demonstrate that general species models should be applied with caution when using body size to predict trophic position. Additionally, the predictive power of some relationships found here is questionable since, albeit significant, their strengths are generally low. Together, our results suggest that body size may have limited use in predicting trophic position of some biota in temperate freshwater lakes.

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Global patterns of aquatic food chain length

Cited by 217 publications

References 64 publications

Use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil

Use of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes to study the feeding ecology of small coastal cetacean populations in southern Brazil

Impact of the riverbed morphology on the source of organic material and the trophic structure of fish community along the upper reaches of the Nevėžis River, Lithuania

Relationships between body size and trophic position of consumers in temperate freshwater lakes

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